Yuri Quickie: The Lies We All Tell

I was a bit hesitant going into this one but fortunately it ended up being better than expected. It falls under a special kind of comedy type I have a strange fondness of. Let us briefly take a look at The Lies We All Tell.

Alternate Title: 4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku (Japanese).

The gist is a comedy about four friends in high school hiding a big secret about themselves from each other. One is an alien, one a ninja, one an esper and the last a cross-dresser. Each one has their reasons for keeping their true identity a secret  To get it out of the way yes there is minor drama about the truth being revealed over time but trust me when I say to not expect much from that. The show is meant to be enjoyed for its random nonsense comedy similar to anime like Milky Holmes, Nichijou and Magical Pokahn to name a few. I know the shows mentioned do have an ongoing story but my point is similar to them the comedy in this one is wacky, nonsensical and dumb. As mentioned in the introduction I have a soft spot for nonsensical comedies like this that are well done. For the most part The Lies We All Tell pulls it off nicely. However, to me the last quarter of the show was weak compared to previous three. Not that they are all bad (though Episode 9 was my least favorite) but the last batch of episodes did not bust my gut as much…or maybe it was by design, as in the first 8 being the better episodes.

One thing to keep in mind is certain consequences from a past episode are brought up again later while others are forgotten. Again maybe that’s the point.

To briefly sum up what kind of jokes to expect here is quick rundown of the leads:

-The Alien’s understanding of human culture is limited and she has many ridiculous abilities and gadgets. Do not expect any of them to make sense.

-The Esper can read the minds of all but one of her friends. Other than her reactions to their antics. She has personal insecurities about herself related to her powers, why she keeps them hidden and the many reasons why she does not use her full power.

-The Ninja’s skills are lethal but she hides them behind a ditzy ojou-sama who loves cute things. Remember the last part.

-The Cross-Dresser’s shtick is doing their best to fit in with everyone and repeatedly having their ego crumpled.

Remember what I said about Ninja liking cute things? Besides these two there are other instances of Yuri here and there.

Could have been another hidden gem of Fall 2022 but the last quarter was not as good as the previous three. Still an overall pretty good comedy for viewers who enjoy glorious nonsense.